how are ecom / reselling businesses viewed on a resume?
back in the pandemic i used to be one of those resellers and made a bag, and recently transformed the business into a ecom wholesaling biz (>$5m in revenue but low margins). was wondering if this is worth putting on my resume (i would rather do IB than do this nonsense). ive gotten mixed opinions on doing it.
Probably doesn't hurt to have it on the resume as a freshman/early sophomore, I'd just be vague about the nature of the business, maybe just call it an e-commerce business
was thinking of including it for upcoming FT recruiting
Including your e-commerce/reselling business on your resume can be a strong addition, especially when targeting investment banking (IB) roles. Based on the WSO Dataset, here's why it's beneficial:
Entrepreneurial Experience: Your experience in running a business, especially one that achieved over $5 million in revenue, showcases your entrepreneurial spirit. This is highly valued in the finance industry as it demonstrates initiative, risk management, and the ability to scale a business.
Financial Acumen: Managing a business with significant revenue, even with low margins, indicates that you have a solid understanding of financial management, cost control, and revenue optimization. These are critical skills in IB, where financial analysis and understanding of business models are paramount.
Problem-Solving Skills: Transitioning from a reselling business to an e-commerce wholesaling business shows your ability to pivot and adapt to market changes. This ability to solve problems and adapt strategies is crucial in IB, where market conditions and client needs can change rapidly.
Operational Experience: Running an e-commerce business involves a range of operational tasks, from supply chain management to customer service. This experience can be valuable in understanding the operational aspects of companies you might deal with in IB.
Quantifiable Achievements: Highlighting the revenue figures and any growth metrics can provide a concrete measure of your success. In IB, being able to quantify achievements is essential, whether it's in terms of deal size, growth achieved for clients, or efficiency improvements.
When including this experience on your resume, focus on the skills and achievements that are most transferable to IB. Highlight your leadership, financial management, strategic planning, and any complex challenges you overcame. This will help position your entrepreneurial experience as a valuable asset in your transition to investment banking.
Sources: 7 Things I Learned While Running a Business, Deal experience on resume?, Can you put deal experience on your resume as an intern?, Q&A: I just conducted interviews in 4 Superdays, Investment Banking Resume Template - Official WSO CV Example
I would 100% include it on your resume if it was to that scale. Mine was in the realm of ~500k rev across like 2 years and some people love to ask questions abt it during interviews. Can sometimes make the interview very conversational and make it go very well. Also shows entrepreneurial mindset.
What did you sell? Was going to start small with like sub $1k in product and look to make a small profit. How did you go about it? Saw some people going to stores and seeing what it was selling for on Amazon and making a small arbitrage. Definitely not as big as yours, just to pass the time while interviewing and make $500-$1,000 a month.
It was a majority stuff that would fall under like “hype” street wear like any Jordans, Yeezys, supreme, etc. I got pretty lucky as it really took off during the peak of Covid and I used bots early on and was able to scale up pretty quickly. Also sold stuff like ps5s and gpus as well, but I’m pretty sure the market is dead for almost all of this stuff which is kinda why I dropped out. Inflation really killed margins and the market just became way too competitive for me and wasn’t worth my time while I was in school. Also did a good amount with discounted items on major retailers websites, but I’m pretty sure margins are gone on a lot of stuff. There’s always something out there though within e commerce so I would just keep looking.
I've been looking at that, like sales on major websites and selling at original online? Will look into that and the others, seems margins are tough but not really looking to scale.
Yea it was exactly that, but during Covid the online sales were crazy as stock from retail stores was all getting moved online so there was a much wider variety of goods and websites were doing crazy sales to make up for lost revenue
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